Mark “The Shark” Irwin on Using Psilocybin for Performance and Recovery
Artem SmirnovFormer BKB bare-knuckle world champion Mark “The Shark” Irwin shares his trajectory—from drug and alcohol abuse in Orange County, through rehab and jail, to finding discipline in a men’s recovery home and building a career in amateur and professional boxing. After sustaining traumatic brain injuries, he began exploring psilocybin for performance, eventually microdosing and later taking the unconventional step of competing in all of his professional fights under its influence.
Now retired, his focus has shifted toward healing and research through his nonprofit, Athletes Journey Home, which supports athletes recovering from TBI and performance-related trauma while contributing to scientific research in the field 
I fought all my professional prize fights under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms.
Watch the full interview with Mark ‘The Shark’ Irwin
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
01:22 Early Life and Recovery
02:35 Boxing Career and TBIs
04:00 Fighting on Psilocybin
05:28 Performance and Safety Breakdown
08:24 Injuries and Recovery Reality
11:09 Fighter Myth vs Real Cost
13:16 Athletes Journey Home Mission
14:16 Colombia Ayahuasca Study
18:26 Science Meets Ceremony
21:12 Integration and Mens Support
25:11 How Athletes Get Help
26:00 Public Misconceptions and Intent
27:34 Retirement and Inner Peace
28:53 Trauma Full Circle to Healing
30:30 Vulnerability and Mental Health
31:54 Final Thanks and Where to Follow
In Mark's Words
Q: What is the real cost of being a professional fighter?
Mark: It takes a toll on your body and your brain. I’ve had multiple traumatic brain injuries, and I’ve noticed the impact on my speech and memory. Being in that level of violence also lowers your life expectancy. That’s the reality people don’t see.
How did psychedelics become part of your fighting career?
Mark: I started microdosing to help with traumatic brain injuries. Over time, I began using psilocybin in my training and saw strong results. Eventually, I fought all of my professional fights under the influence, gradually increasing the dose over the years to find what I felt was an optimal performance level.
What benefits did you experience from using psilocybin in fights?
Mark: I found that it was really beneficial for confidence, right? It made me supremely confident, which is important when you’re making split second decisions in the ring. it’s good for creativity. it increases your ability to get into your flow state more quickly, as we call it, where you’re in the zone, right? it improves visual acuity, so there’s a lot of performative benefits.”
I went from giving and receiving brain injuries on psychedelics… to using them to help heal.
This story was recorded in collaboration with Athletes Journey Home
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